Report Writing  

There are many academic disciplines in which students are expected to write reports rather than, or as well as, essays. However, students often experience difficulties in understanding what is expected of them when writing a report. This is especially the case if they have been used to writing essays, but can also be a problem if their previous experience of report writing is in another discipline. 

In our research at the University of Reading, we shall be working with students and academics from a wide range of academic disciplines to explore the experience of writing reports at university. The research questions to be addressed will include:

• What does it mean to describe report writing as an academic genre? 
• What are the similarities and differences between reports in different disciplines?
• In which areas of report writing do students experience particular difficulties, and how can they be best supported to develop their practices? 

Using a practice-led approach, the results of our research will contribute to an evidence base for learning developers and other academic practitioners, and enable the development of effective peer-reviewed resources to support better report writing practices for students.

For advice for university students on developing better report writing, please click here.

For information for teaching staff and learning developers, including a list of free-to-download resources and more details of our research on report writing practices, please click here.